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Tuesday 10am - 3:45pm Wednesday 10am - 3:45pm Thursday 10am - 3:45pm Friday 10am - 3:45pm Saturday 10am - 3:45pm

Virgin Valley Heritage Museum

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Mesquite, NV
Virgin Valley Heritage Museum

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We are a small heritage museum. We tell of the settlement of the Virgin Valley and surrounding areas. Welcome to our Museum page!

We encourage discussion about regional history. We ask that all comments remain respectful and relevant to the historical to The Virgin Valley Heritage Museum Mission:
The mission of the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum is to deepen the understanding of the community and visitors about the Virgin Valley specifically Mesquite, Bunkerville ,Beaver Dam, Little Field ,Arizona Strip and Southern Nevada. We strive to bring history to life through collections, exhibits, special events and educational opportunities. We also strive to preserve and protect our local history. The Virgin Valley Heritage Museum sits as a tribute to the early pioneer settlers of the Virgin Valley. Rich with a deep pioneer heritage full of strength, devotion, hardships, sacrifice, and hope, the museum helps visitors to not only understand the pioneer way of life but helps them to connect with the very pioneers that settled this great valley. The original purpose of the building was to serve the community as a library and museum. It served as the Mesquite branch of the Clark County Library for about a year. The town then made the decision that a medical facility was needed more than a library. With the $35 donation from each family in town, Dr. Gilbert and Bertha Howe, a registered nurse, went to Las Vegas and bought the medical supplies necessary to open the hospital. The library building was then converted and used as the hospital and only medical facility in town until 1977. After being closed for a few years, it was used as a Boy Scout meeting hall. In 1984, the newly incorporated City of Mesquite reclaimed it and designated it a museum to house the historical treasures of the Virgin Valley. Admission to the Museum is free, donations are gladly accepted.

10/30/2026

Here is Throwback Thursday.

Ever wondered how the Bundy family found their way to the Virgin Valley, or how the famous Annual Bundy Family Reunion in Mt. Trumbull first began?

It all started in 1895 with the arrival of Abraham Bundy, his wife Ella Anderson, and their five children in Bunkerville. Their journey there was paved with a remarkable history of resilience, young love, and frontier grit.

A Runaway and a Railman:
Born in Illinois in 1859, Abraham was the 11th of 17 children. At just 17 years old, he ran away from home to escape a dangerous chore involving an unbroken horse, fleeing to his brother's home in Kansas. Life soon threw heavy trials his way.

Fate and Loss Bring Them Together:
Ella Anderson was born on January 18, 1865 to August Anderson and Rachel J Chitty. Ella’s early life was marked by profound tragedy; she lost her mother just after her 11th birthday and her father less than two years later. Orphaned, she was taken in by kind neighbors: the Ambrose Bundy family. A year later, Ambrose's younger runaway brother Abraham would arrive in the home.

This was just the beginning. Let's step back in time and follow Abraham and Ella on their historic journey that ultimately brought them to the Virgin Valley and Mt Trumbull!

10/28/2026

FYI & Participation

10/22/2026

Here is Throwback Thursday.

The Nevada Day Parade is one of the state’s oldest and most historical events. There are only three states that celebrate its admission into the Union with a state holiday; Nevada by far hosts the largest and most extensive public celebration of its kind.

Nevada was admitted into the Union as the 36th state on October 31st, 1864, during the Civil War earning the “Battle-Born” motto displayed on the upper left corner under the silver star of the official Nevada State Flag. There were no recorded early celebrations of statehood between 1864 and 1889.

In 1889, the Pacific Coast Pioneer Society hosted a grand banquet for the 25th Silver Jubilee Anniversary of Nevada’s Statehood. This was the earliest formal milestone in what would eventually become Nevada Day. According to famed Comstock journalist Alfred Doten, it was a luxurious banquet bringing together the political, business, and mining elites of the Comstock Lode. The grand banquet was held in Virginia City.

In 1891, a bill signed by Governor Roswell Colcord making October 31st an official judicial holiday (no court will be transacted on Admission’s Day). This prompted early celebrations and parades in Virginia City and Reno during the bonanza years of the Comstock Lode.

Between 1891 and 1914, few if any, other Nevada communities celebrated Admission’s Day. It wasn’t until 1938 that the official parade tradition moved down the mountain and established its home in Carson City. In southern Nevada, the towns and early settlements were too busy struggling to survive to participate in any extravagant celebrations or parades.

In 1938, Judge Clark Guild and Thomas C Wilson collaborated with the Rotary, Lions, and 20-30 clubs to move Admission Day celebrations to Carson City. A year later, a bill was introduced by Assemblyman Peter Andrew Amodei designating Nevada Day as an official holiday. Nevada Day parades and celebrations have been held in the state capitol continuously since 1938 except for a break of three years during WWII.

In 1949, Governor Vail Pittman signed a Bill authorizing Nevada Day as an official State Holiday. In June of 1999, Governor Kenny Guinn signed into Law a bill recognizing Nevada Day celebrations on the LAST FRIDAY in the month of October following an Advisory Vote by Nevadans in 1998. Actual Statehood date of October 31 remains the legal anniversary day of Nevada’s admission into the Union in 1864.

10/17/2026

For Your Information & Participation

Here is a sneak preview of our topic" The Evolution Into The Education System In the Virgin Valley."

10/17/2026

Here is Throwback Thursday.

Did you know that Adair Springs, Washington Utah was the birthplace of Utah's “Dixie?”

Washington, Utah is the historical birthplace of Utah’s “Dixie,” a region settled specifically to solve a severe national cotton shortage. During the American Civil War, the Confederacy burned its own fields to force European recognition, causing raw cotton prices to skyrocket from 10 cents per pound in 1860 to $1.89 per pound by 1864. This massive scarcity and extreme pricing forced western settlers to produce their own textiles.
The expansion of Utah's Cotton Mission developed in three major phases:

1) 1857 (The Pioneers): About 40 families from the Adair and Covington companies—mostly from southern states like Mississippi and Alabama—were called to settle Washington and grow cotton, giving the region its "Dixie" nickname.

2) 1861 (The Reinforcements): Brigham Young called a massive wave of 309 families to settle nearby St. George, reinforce the Virgin River Basin, and build the Washington Cotton Factory.

3) 1877 The Expansion: Led by Edward Bunker Sr. and Dudley Leavitt Sr., a group of 77 settlers eventually followed the river further down into the Virgin Valley to establish Bunkerville and surrounding communities.

Let's stroll down memory lane and have a close look at the struggles of our neighbors in Washington Utah.

10/08/2026

This is Throwback Thursday.

We are dipping back into photographs passed on to the museum without names or event identification. It has been a while and you all seem to have fun with trying to ID these photos. So here we go again.

Have Fun!

10/03/2026

Here is throwback Thursday.

Did you know that by 1974, Littlefield, Arizona, was nearly a ghost town with only 32 residents left? Just nine families remained. A brutal combination of geographic isolation, frequent flash floods, failing infrastructure, and the rise of massive commercial farms completely crushed the town's traditional way of life. The heads of the nine families that remained to keep the desolate community alive were:
Clifford Peterson
Melvin Peterson (Clifford & Grace’s son & family)
Louis Reber
Dessie Reber
Dan Reber
Eddie Jones
Lena Copley
Cecil Hardin
Polly Harris

Clifford and Grace Peterson were prominent life-long figures of Littlefield Arizona, an isolated community in what is called the “Arizona Strip.” They married in 1935, raised a large family and spent their lives sustaining the tiny community of Littlefield through several foundational contributions.

Clifford Peterson was born on March 7, 1913 in Littlefield AZ to Christopher Marius Peterson and Martha Emily Reber. Clifford was the grandson of Samuel Reber Sr and 3rd wife Emma Rosina Hofer who were at the time also residents of Littlefield..

Grace Virginia Nelson was born on April 27, 1915 in St Paul Minnesota to Stacy Nelson and Estella Mable Harmon Nelson. The Nelson’s moved across the country, first to Bountiful Utah, then to California, and then to St George Utah. She was introduced to Clifford Peterson at a scotch hop dance by Zella Pulsipher (Burns) in the mid-1930s.

Clifford and Grace Virginia married on December 20th 1935. Grace Virginia wrote:
“Then in 1935 (Dec. 20) Clifford and I were married in the St. Geo., Utah Temple. The only ones that was to the Temple was Clifford’s Aunt Vinda Reber and Mrs. Eve Starr. We didn’t have a wedding time except my mother gave a small shower at her home. I’ve regretted not having a wedding picture made. I guess it was because we couldn’t afford one. He sold a cow and I think he got about $35 and that’s what we got married on.”

Here are some of the highlights of the Clifford and Grace Peterson Family and their strive to keep the community of Littlefield Arizona alive and well.

Address

35 West Mesquite Boulevard
Mesquite, NV
89027

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 3:45pm
Wednesday	10am - 3:45pm
Thursday	10am - 3:45pm
Friday	10am - 3:45pm
Saturday	10am - 3:45pm

Telephone

+17023465705

Website

https://www.mesquitenv.gov/departments/museum

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